Banjo



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

J. BRANDT.

BANJO. Elm-601,804; Patented Apr. 5, 1898.

WITNESSES INVENTOR I xJoHw BRANDT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(N0 Model J. BRANDT.

BANJO.

No. 601,804. Patented Apr. 5, 1898.

WITNESSES: $6M m A 911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BRANDT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BANJO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,804, dated April 5, 1898.

Application filed March 29, 1897. Serial No. 629,748. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN BRANDT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Banjos, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in banjos; and the objects of myinvention are, first, to provide a series of rings forming the body of the instrument by the use whereof the other objects of my invention are accomplished; second, to provide a body to said banjo so constructed that there are no exposed or protruding rods, nuts, clamps, or bolts, thereby improving the appearance of the instrument and adding to the convenience in handling; third, to provide a sounding-board in said body, thereby improving the strength and quality of the tone of the instrument; fourth, to provide a series of air chambers or spaces inclosed in thin wooden walls, there by adding resonance, permitting lightness of construction, and also affording opportunity for embellishment; fifth, to furnisha compact and substantial means of connecting the body to the neck of the instrument. I obtain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top View of the device, showing the parchment or sheepskin top or drum partially turned back, revealing a portion of the sounding-board with its center brace and sound-hole. Fig. 2 is a side view of the i11- strument. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 1, of the neck stock or piece connecting the neck of the instrument to the body. Fig. 4 is a face View of the inner end of the neck-stock. Fig. 5 is a top view of a segment of the rim or edge of the body. Fig. 6 is a side View of a portion of the body, showing the hook-bolts in dotted lines. Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the body at line 7 7, Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a vertical section of the body at line 8 8, Fig. 6.

Similar letters refer to similar parts thro ughout the several views.

The ring A, having a perpendicular flange A on its inner periphery and a downward flange A on its outward periphery, surmounts the ring B and is held in position by the long hook-bolts a a. The upper flange A of the ring A approaches the upper flange B of the ring B near enough to permit the sheepskin or parchment of the drum G to pass between the inner surface of the flange A and the outer surface of the flange B; but the space between said two flanges A and B is sufficiently narrow to prevent the small hoop or wire around which the edges of the flange g of the parchment or sheepskin drum G is wrapped from passing through it.

B is a ring whose right cross-section bears a general resemblance to a channel-iron, having the perpendicular inner flange B rising high enough to form the ring upon which the parchment or sheepskin drum is stretched and also supporting the sounding-board F. Said ring B also has a smaller and outer flange B The central portion of the ring B is parallel to the plane of the ring B and at right angles to the flange B.

The ring B has on its under side annular grooves c and d to receive the tongued edges of the rings 0 and D, hereinafter described.

0 and D are thin wooden hoops of different diameters, concentric and parallel to each other, Jreferably about an inch in width.

The outer ring D is held in position by means of tongues on its extremities engaging with tongues 011 the rings B and E, as shown.

F. is a ring whose right cross-section bears a general resemblance to a letter T, the stem (2 being parallel to the plane of the ring.

The flange e of the ring E extends downward far enough to hide the nuts of the hookbolts a b, as hereinafter shown, while the flange e of the ring E extends upward, form ing a tongue to engage with the corresponding tongue on the outer ring D. The inner ring 0 rests upon the upper portion of the part 6 of the ring E,which has an offset a to receive it, and the upper portion of the ring O is tongued to engage with a similar tongue on the under side of the ring B.

The ring H is interposed between the rings B and E and is held firmly against upward movement by the posts 71, interposed between the under surface of the ring B and the upper surface of the ring II. The rings A, B, E, and H are preferably of metal.

a CL are hook-bolts extending through suitable apertures c a a a in the rings A, B,

H, and E, the apertures a in the ring E being also made large enough to admit the passage of the nuts f on the bolts a without binding them.

The hook-bolts a a engage at their upper or hooked ends with the upper surface of the ring A, and the nuts f, being larger than the aperture a in the ring it, bear against the lower surface of the ring H, and thus hold said rings A, B, and H in their proper relations.

The hook-bolts I) pass through suitable apertures b b and If in the rings B, H, and E, respectively, and bear at their hooked ends against the upper surface of the ring B, and the nuts 6 on the lower extremities of the bolts I) bear against the under flat surface of the ring E.

The rings 13, O, D, and E,when held together by the hook-bolts Z) Z), compose a rigid and selfcontained frame, thus permitting the removal of the ring A and the drum G and soundingboard F, hereinafter described, without disconnecting the neck and neck-stock from the body. These rings B, O, D, and E also inclose the air-space R. The air contained in said air-space is set in vibration by the vibration of the instrument, thus increasing the volume of sound.

I prefer to make the rings 0 and D, and especially the outer one D, of some variety of hard wood, such as rose-wood or ebony, to permit of light construction and embellishment, and to improve the tone of the instrument by relatively increasing the size of the inclosed air-space R by decreasing the thick ness of the inclosing walls thereof.

At 1) l) the ring 13 has a shoulder or offset to receive the edge of the sounding-board F. Said sounding-board F is a thin sheet of wood, properly braced, filling the inner area of the ring 13 and having a sound-hole f. The sounding-board F has a flange fiwhich comes in contact at its outer surface with the offset inner surface of the ring B and serves to hold the sounding-board in position. The sounding-board is thus held in position by the friction of the parts alone without the use of glue or other means of attachment.

I prefer to make the sounding-board of seasoned European spruce or wood of similar light and flexible character. The soundingboard F, being necessarily thin,may be braced by the thin strip T, which is attached thereto in any suitable manner.

Across the upper flange B of the ring B is stretched a drum G, of sheepskin or parchment, in the usual manner. At the periphery of the drum G is a flange g large enough to sufficiently lap over the flange B of the ring 13. At the outer edge of the flange g of the drum G a heading 1 is formed by wrapping the sheepskin or parchment around a small hoop of wood or wire.

The inner surface of the outer flange A of the ring A makes sliding contact with the outer surface of the flange 13 of the ring 13,

while the inner surface of the flange A fits over and makes sliding contact with the outer surface of the flange g of the drum G. The adjustment of the tension of the drum G is regulated by the position of the ring A, which engages the flange g and the heading I of the drum G in such a manner as to prevent slipping. This tension can be regulated by the adjustment of the ring A by the bolts a and nuts f.

The ring H may be omitted and the hookbolts a made shorter, so as to be used in eonnection with elongated nuts, which will bear against the under side of the rings ll; but I prefer to use the supplementary ring II with the shorter nuts to facilitate the assemblage of the parts.

The neck-stock L is made to conform to the shape of that part of the neck L of the instrument which is near the body. The neckstock and neck are held firmly together by means of screws 8 s.

The neck-stock carries on its inner extremity a cross-bar l\[, which is tapped and threaded to receive the bolts m m. Said bolts mm pass through corresponding apertures in the body of the instrument.

By screwing down the nuts 7t n on the bolts m m to a bearing on the inside of the body of the instrument the body is securely fastened to the neck-stock and neck. The principal advantage of this construction is that the body and neck of the instrument are firmly connected together without requiring any extension of the neck or auxiliary piece to the opposite side of the body of the instrument, as is now usual in banjos for the rigid connection of the neck to the body.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a banjo, the combination of a drum, of a ring having a flange at a suitable angle to the body of said ring, said flange having an offset part or shoulder on the inner side thereof: and a sounding-board placed beneath said drum, and occupying the entire area of said flanged ring, said sounding-board having a flange adapted to fit closely against the inner offset portion of the flange on said ring,in such manner that said sounding-board may be held in position by the friction of said adjacent parts alone; said soundingboard having a sound-hole therein: substantially as described.

2. A banjo, the body whereof is formed of a hollow frame composed of parallel rings, and rings, the bodies whereof are placed substantially perpendicular thereto; the several portions of said frame being detachably united by suitable means, substantially as described.

3. A banjo, the body whereof is composed of a hollow frame, composed of separable portions detachably united by hook-bolts or clamps, substantially as described.

4. A banjo, the body whereof is formed of a hollow frame, composed of parallel rings and rings placed perpendicular thereto; said parallel rings having suitable apertures therein to receive hook-bolts, or other suitable form of clamp; in combination with an adjustable ring for regulating the tension of the drum of said banjo, and hoolcbolts, or other form of adjustable clamps, passing through said apertures and engaging with the adjustable tension-regulating ring, substantially as described.

5. A banjo, the frame whereof is composed of a flat ring having a flange placed perpendicular thereto, said flange sustaining the drum of the banjo and an outside flange or guide having a sliding engagement with the flange of an adjustable ring for regulating the tension of the drum of said banjo; two rings placed perpendicularly to said flat ring on the side thereof, opposite said perpendicular flange, and a ring at the opposite ends of said perpendicular rings, forming a bearing for hook-bolts or clamps, connecting said several portions of said frame, substantially as described.

6. In abanjo, the body whereof is composed of a hollow frame composed of rings and flanges, as described, a supplementary ring placed between the upper and lower rings of said frame, and held rigidly in position as a bearing for the nuts on the hook-bolts for regulating the tension of the drum, substantially as described.

7. In a banjo, substantially as described, a ring B, having an upright flange, B, for sustaining the drum of said banjo, and an outer flange, B having sliding engagement with a downward flange, A of the ring A; said ring A, having an inside flange, A,for holding the drum of said banjo in position, and regulating the tension thereof; in combination with an inner ring, 0, and an outer ring, D, placed perpendicular to the central por tion, 1), of the ring, D; said rings, 0 and D, engaging at their opposite ends With the ring E; said ring E having an outer downward flange, c; said rings B, O, D and E being held together by the hook-bolts, Z), and the nuts, 11 bearing on the outer portion of the ring E; and hook-bolts or clamps, a, bearing upon the upper outside surface of the ring, A, at one extremity thereof, and having nuts, f, at their other extremity; said hook-bolts passing throughsuitable apertures in said several rings, and said nuts, f, havinga suitable bearing Within said hollow frame for adj ustin g the ring A,substantiall y as described.

JOHN BRANDT.

'Witnesses:

Jnssn 00X, MIMA RICHARDSON. 

